On a recent episode of On The Record with RFD-TV, Cody Johnson revealed his ambitious and wholesome mission to beat one of George Strait‘s many records. The record Johnson has his sights set on is George Strait’s record for the most performances at Rodeo Houston.
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George Strait is a fixture of Rodeo Houston with 31 performances over his decades-long career. Currently, Johnson has headlined the event five times in the last nine years: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, and 2023. Additionally, Strait also holds the attendance record at the event with over 80,000 fans, but Johnson did not explicitly state that he was also chasing that record.
For Cody Johnson, this mission is not one of vanity. Rather, he loves raising money for the scholarship program at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. In his interview with On The Record, Johnson articulated that one of the conditions in his contract for the show is that $1 million of the earnings be donated to the scholarship program.
What Cody Johnson Had To Say About Chasing Strait’s Record
During his appearance on RFD-TV’s On The Record, Johnson stated, “Within my contract that took two years to negotiate, one of my stipulations was that $1 million of that show goes to the scholarship program at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. I want to beat the record.”
“George Strait, I love you, and I’ve looked up to you my entire life, but I want to beat the record. Not for any other reason, just because I want to break the record. And hopefully if I do break the record, maybe it will give an excuse for old George to come back and break mine,” added Cody Johnson.
Jokingly, Johnson concluded, “It’s not a challenge.” So, in addition to raising a substantial amount of money for the scholarship program at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Cody Johnson also wants to pull George Strait out of Rodeo Houston retirement. George Strait’s last performance at Rodeo Houston was in March 2022, and his first performance at the quintessential Texas event transpired in 1983.
Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
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